Marketo‘s 22-page eBook on optimizing social channels for lead generation is packed with information. It was a challenge to summarize this one, but here we go. At least you‘ll get a good impression about what it‘s about.

This eBook aims to help you understand the profound shift that has taken place - although social is still important for branding and generating buzz, lead generation is becoming more and more important.

According to Marketo:

• One-third of global B2B buyers use social media to engage with their vendors, and 75% expect to use social media in future purchases processes.
• Marketers rate social media as the second-most important factor (64%) in organic search success, behind only effective web pages (82%).
• 60% of B2B companies have acquired a customer through Linkedin, followed by 60% through company blogs, 43% through Facebook, and 40% through Twitter.

A recent Nielsen survey showed that only 33% of buyers believe what a brand has to say about itself because people view any brand-to-buyer communication as an advertisement.

Therefore, Marketo‘s golden rules for generating results with social media marketing are:

1. Don’t take yourself too seriously: It should be obvious but social media is about being social, and that means you need a good personality to make your brand likable.

2. Inbound is not enough: Each of the tactics described in this eBook can work on their own. But, for a business to benefit fully from them, they should be combined with outbound marketing. Never underestimate what a bit of paid promotion can do for your business.

3. You must have good content and solid offers: Without well-produced, engaging content, any and all tactics you employ will most likely fail.

4. You will need a strong call to action: The tried-and-true, strong call to action is just as important in social media as it is anywhere else. Be clear about what you want your audience to do after consuming your content or engaging with your brand.

5. Always add value: At the end of the day, if you are not providing some sort of value to your prospects and customers, you are not doing your job and social media will never work for you. Here is an easy test: put yourself in your prospects’ shoes and ask if you find what you are offering of any value – from their perspective. If not, kill it and start all over again.

6. Never forget that social is a two-way street: No one likes being talked at. Yes, broadcast your message, but remember to keep the lines of communication open in both directions. When contacted, always respond quickly and sincerely. Be sure to mix up your messaging and use a combination of content and offers.

The eBook continues to give detailed information on how to best take advantage of the following social channels: Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Slideshare, YouTube and Google+.

I think it really gives a lot of details on how to handle these channels in order to turn each of your social channels into lead-generating machines that generate ROI. So, if that‘s the direction you are heading to, you might want to download the entire eBook at http://www.marketo.com.

By Anjum Siddiqi